Deepwater Horizon is having a bit of difficulty right now. First, there were production delays as the script went into rewrites. Then, director JC Chandor departed the project, which chronicles the 2010 BP oil spill, citing apparent “creative differences.” Now, we are hearing that director Peter Berg might replace Chandor in the director’s chair.
Peter Berg sounds like he’ll be a good match for the production: he’s previously worked with star Mark Wahlberg on Lone Survivor and he also has experience with, uh, big ships, as he’s the man behind Battleship. You can take that piece of information about his filmography as you like.
Still, the loss of Chandor is a bit of a blow to the production. The director was responsible for efforts like All Is Lost and the recent A Most Violent Year; both films certainly a cut above Berg’s Battleship or Lone Survivor. He has also had a pretty good relationship with Lionsgate up to now, so we can hope that that will not all fall apart with his departure.
The already delayed Deepwater Horizon will probably remain on target if Berg signs on. The film has Mark Wahlberg as No.2 manager of the oil rig that caught fire in April of 2010, killing 11 crew members and resulting in one of the largest oil spills in U.S. history. It’s interesting fodder for a feature film, so here’s hoping that Berg will be able to do justice to it.
We will let you know more about release dates and plot details on Deepwater Horizon as more information becomes available, so stay tuned.